Pile fabric knitting machines



June 14, 1955 v BRANDT 2,710,525

PILE FABRIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROBERT E. BRAN DT ATTY.

June 14, 1955 BRANDT 2,710,525

PILE FABRIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. R 0 BE RT E. BRAN DT BY Mim ATTY June 14, 1955 R. E. BRANDT FILE FABRIC KNITTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 18, l950- INVENTOR. ROBERT E. BRANDT ATTY June 14, 1955 R. E. BRANDT PILE FABRIC KNITTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 18, 1950 Inn INVENTOR. ROBERT E.BRANDT ATTY United States Patent PILE FABRIC KNITTING MACHINES,

Robert E. Brandt, Delavan, Wis.,, assignor to The George W. Borg Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application March 18, 1950, Serial No. 150,447

30 Claims. (Cl. 66-9) The present invention relates in general to pile fabric knitting machines, of the type which comprises a circular knitting machine. for knitting the back or base fabric and a carding head for feeding the pile forming fibrous material to the needles of the machine, and the object of the'invention is to provide a new and improved knitting machine of thisv character.

A- feature of the invention is a new and improved carding head which isv more efficient and practical than carding heads: known heretofore.

The foregoing and other features will be. described fully in the ensuing specification, reference being had to the. accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a front: elevation of a carding head embodying thev invention;

Fig. 2 isa side view of the same, showing the cards and part of the knitting machine to which the carding head is assembled;

Fig. 3 is a view from the opposite side, showing the driving mechanism for the cards and feed rolls;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section through the frame on the line 5-5, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a top view of the knitting machine showing how the needle cylinder is driven by a plurality of carding heads in parallel.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character 10 indicates the bed plate of a circular knitting machine, having the sinker cam ring 11 and a needle cylinder which is rotated by the large bevel gear 12. The knitting machine is of well known construction, such as is manufactured by the Wildman Manufacturing Company of Norristown, Pa., for example, and will not be described in detail. Many parts of the machine are in fact' omitted from the drawings since they have nothing to do with the invention.

The various parts of the carding head are mounted on a frame, which is preferably an iron casting. The shape of the frame can be seen from Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and from the sectional view, Fig. 5. For the most part it is of hollow formation, open at one side as seen in Fig. 3. The other side, presented in Fig. 2, comprises a vertical wall 16, having two cylindrical bosses projecting therefrom, one of which is indicated. at 39 in Fig. 1. The frame has a base 17, and a foot 18 which. projects. from the wall 16. These parts" rest on the bed. plate 10 of the knitting machine to which they are secured by tit screws 19, Fig. 3, and screws 20, Fig; 2. Thus the frame L is firmly attached to the bed. plate.

The reference character 21 indicates a housing which is a hollow iron casting shaped as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The housing rests on the top of the. frame. It is open below and in the back and has a. flange 22 in front. The screws 23 extend through holes in this flange and are threaded into tapped holes in the frame, whereby the housing is secured in position as. shown.

The reference character 24 indicates. a motor, which should be of a type which is adapted to operate in parallel in the bracket.

with other similar motors in sharing a common load. A three phase induction motor has been found to operate satisfactorily. The motor 24 is mounted on the. top of housing 21 by means of the mounting plate 25 and a plurality of screws as shown. The mounting plate 25. is employed because the base of the motor is somewhat wider than the housing, as can be seen in Fig. 2.

The counter shaft 29 is rotatably supported by bearings in the housing 21, as seen in Fig. l. The projecting end of the shaft is somewhat reduced in diameter, forming a shoulder outside the housing. This portion of the shaft carries the pinion 30 and the sprocket wheel 32 which are held against the shoulder by the washer 33 and the screw 34, the latter being an Allen screw which is threaded into a tapped hole in the shaft. The pinion 30 is preferably keyed to the shaft and has a flange 31 to which the sprocket wheel 32 is secured by means of the screws 35. The shaft 29 is driven by the motor 24 by means of the sprocket wheel 27 on the motor shaft 26, the chain 28, andthe sprocket wheel 32.

Inside the housing 21 the shaft 29 carries a sprocket wheel 36 and a bevel gear 37 which are fixed to the shaft in any suitable manner. The functions of these parts will be explained shortly.

The reference numeral 38 indicates a shaft which is rotatably mounted in the frame by means of ball bearings as shown, the right hand bearing, Fig. 1, being supported in the cylindrical boss 39 which projects from the wall 16 of theframe. The shaft is preferably formed. with shoulders at both ends. The inner ball race of the left hand bearing, the sleeve 42, gear 40, sleeve 43, and gear 41 are assembled on the shaft at the left and are held against the left hand shoulder by means of the washer 43' and screw 42. The gears are preferably keyed to the shaft. The main card 44 and the inner race of the right hand bearing are assembled on the right hand end of the shaft 38 and are held against the right hand shoulder thereon by means of the washer 45 and screw 46. The card is preferably keyed to the shaft but is readily removable therefrom for replacement or repairs.

The card 44 is of known construction and need not be described in detail, the construction being sufiiciently indicated in the drawing. The card is driven by shaft 38, which is driven from shaft 29 by means of pinion 30 and gear 41.

The. feeding card 47 is supported on a shaft 51 which is rotatably mounted in an extension 48 of the frame. This extension is preferably provided with a cylindrical boss 49, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, which is similarv to the boss 39, Fig. 1. The shaft 51 may be supported by ball bearings similar to the way the shaft 38 is supported. The card 47' is preferably keyed to the shaft and with the associated inner ball race is held against a shoulder on the shaft by the hexagonal nut 53. At the other end of the shaft. there is a gear 50, keyed to the shaft and retained thereon by the nut 52. The arrangement may be similar to the arrangement for supporting gears 40 and 41 on shaft 38, except that only one gear is involved.

The intermediate card 54 and the sprocket wheel 57- are mounted on opposite ends of the shaft 56, which is rotatably mounted in the block 55. The arrangement may be similar to that described in the case of card 47. The block is secured to a T-shaped bracket by means of two screws 58 and 59 which pass through oversize holes in the block and are threaded into tapped holes. After loosening the screws, the block 55 may be moved relative to the bracket 60 to adjust the distance between cards 54 and 47. The bracket 60 is secured to the frame by the screws 61 and 62 which pass through slots or oversize holes. in the bracket and are threaded into tapped holes in the frame.

The bracket is therefore movable relative to the frame, after loosening the screws, in order to adjust the distance between card 54 and card 44.

It will be noted that when the card 54 is adjusted relative to card 47 the direction in which the block 55 is moved is such that the adjustment of card 54 relative to card 44 is not disturbed. Likewise the movement of bracket 60 to adjust card 54 relative to card 44 is in the proper direction to avoid disturbing the adjustment of card 54 relative to card 47. In other words, the card 54 is independently adjustable relative to cards 47 and 44.

The countershaft 63 is rotatably mounted in the frame and carries the gear 65 and the sprocket wheel 64 both of which are keyed to the shaft to rotate therewith. The gear 65 is in mesh with the gear 50.

The shaft 29 drives the shafts 56 and 63 by means of the sprocket wheel 36, the chain 66, and the sprocket wheels 57 and 64. The chain also passes over an idler sprocket wheel 67 which is rotatable on a stud 68 fixed to the bracket 69. The bracket 69 is secured to the housing 21 by two screws as shown and is adjustable up and down to regulate the tension in the chain.

It will be seen that the intermediate cards 54 on shaft 56 is driven directly by the chain 66 and sprocket wheel 57, whereas the drive for the feeding card 47 on shaft 51 includes the gears 65 and 50 in addition to the chain 66 and the sprocket wheel 64. The interposition of the extra shaft 63 with the sprocket wheel 64 and gears 65 and 50 not only causes the card 47 to be driven in the right direction but also makes it possible to change the speed of card 47 relative to card 54. This is done by substituting other gears for gears 50 and 65, both of which are readily removable from their respective shafts.

It will be noted also that the speed of card 54 can be changed readily by removing the sprocket wheel 57 on I shaft 56 and replacing it with a smaller or larger sprocket wheel, the chain 66 being adjusted at the same time by shifting the bracket 69. If necessary the length of the chain can be adjusted by taking out or adding links.

The gears 71 and 72 are mounted on the shaft 70, which is rotatably mounted in the frame, preferably by means of ball bearings. Fig. shows the opening 76 in the frame for receiving the bearings. The gear 71 is in mesh with the gear 40 on shaft 38.

The gears 74 and 75 are mounted on the shaft 73, which is rotatably mounted in the frame. Ball bearings may also be used for supporting shaft 73. The gear 74 is in mesh with the gear 72 on shaft 70.

The card 90 and the feed rolls 92 and 93 are mounted on an auxiliary frame which will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 4, inclusive, Card 90 transfers the fibrous material from the feed rolls to the main card 44 and may be referred to as the lickerin card.

-'The auxiliary frame is preferably an iron casting and comprises a cylindrical part 80, two forwardly extending roll supporting members 81 and 82. a side member 83 which is connected to the member 82 by a web 84, and a bearing support 85 which is joined to the web 84 and to the members 83 and 82. Most of these parts are shown in the sectional view, Fig. 4. The bearing supporting member 85 is above the section line on which Fig. 4 is taken but is shown clearly in Figs. l, 2, and 3.

The card 90 is mounted on a shaft 91, which is rotatably supported by ball bearings in a tubular sleeve 89 in a manner which will be readily understood. The sleeve 89 rests in a semi-cylindrical recess in the bearing supporting member 85 of the auxiliary frame, where it is securely clamped by means of the block 86 which has a corresponding recess. For this purpose the block 86 is fastened to the member 85 by means of two screws such as 87 in front and two screws such as 116 in the rear, which extend downward through holes in the block 86 and are threaded into tapped holes in the member 85. The gear 92 is mounted on shaft 91 on the opposite side of the auxiliary frame from card 90.

The mainframe has a projecting boss 77 on which the auxiliary frame is supported by means of a round bar 107 having a head 117. As shown in Fig. 4, the head 117 is located in an opening in the side member 83, while the remainder of the bar 107, somewhat reduced in diameter, extends through the boss 77 and very nearly through the cylindrical part of the auxiliary frame. A washer 108 is disposed over the opening in part 80. The screws 109 extend through holes in the Washer and are threaded into tapped holes in the bar 107. These screws. having been tightened, tend to pull the bar107 through the cylindrical part 80 and thereby clamp the boss 77 between the other end of said part 80 and the head 117 on bar 107. This arrangement holds the auxiliary frame firmly imposition.

It will be noted that the described arrangement whereby the auxiliary frame is mounted on the main frame by means of the bar 107 makes it possible to adjust the card relative to the main card 44 by loosening the screws 109 and then rotating the auxiliary frame slightly in one direction or the other on the bar 107 as a pivot. The arrangement also serves another purpose which will be explained presently.

The bar 107 is hollow for about one half its length and this hollow portion of the bar contains ball bearings in which the shaft 110 is rotatably mounted. The shaft has its largest diameter between the bearings, forming a shoulder against which the inner ball race of the outside bearing and the gears 111 and 112 are held by means of the washer 118 and screw 119, there being tubular sleeves of the proper length interposed between the ball race and gear 111 and between the two gears in order to locate the gears in the correct positions on the shaft. The gear 112 is in mesh with gear 75 on shaft 73, as shown in Fig. 3.

The feed roll 92 is mounted on a shaft 94, which has hearings in the members 82 and 83 of the auxiliary frame. The shaft 94 also has a bearing in the flanged bushing 95 which is inserted in an opening in member 81 where it is retained by screws such as 120. The opening in member 81 is large enough so that in assembling the parts the roll 92 and shaft 94 can be inserted through this opening. The gears 97 and 99 are mounted on shaft 94 and may be fixed relative thereto in any suitable manner,

as by means of set screws as shown.

The feed roll 93 is mounted on a'shaft 96 which has These bearing bearings in the two blocks 100 and 101. blocks are slidable in recesses formed by bifurcating the members'81 and 82 for a short distance inward from the ends thereof. The recesses are closed by the square vertical bars and 106 which are secured to the members 81 and 82, respectively, by means of screws. as'shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. springs which tend to hold them against the end walls of their respective recesses, with the roll 93 in close proximity to roll 92.

Describing the arrangement for hearing block 100 more in detail, the block is slidable in the recess formed in member 81, as stated, and also is slidable on the two pins 121 and 122 which are fixed in the bar 105 and project into holes in the block 100. These pins are provided to prevent lateral displacement of the block'and are shown by'dotted lines' in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 4 the block 100 has a bore extending inward from the right and containing the' spring 102 and follower 103. The screw 104 is threaded in a tapped hole in the bar 105 and its end bears on the follower 103 in order to compress'the spring'102; This screw serves to adjust the spring tension. The arrangement for hearing block 101 is the same as that described above for block 100.

The shaft 96 has a-gear 98 mounted thereon, by means of a set screw or other suitable means. The gear 98 is in mesh with gear 97 on shaft 94, so that this shaft drives the two rolls in opposite directions as required for feeding fibrous material to the card90. The material is supplied The bearing blocks are fitted with in the form of a roving which is quite uniform but which may nevertheless have an occasional thick spot which would jam the feed rolls if they were fixed relative to each other. It is to take care of this contingency that the feed roll 93 and its shaft 96 are mounted on the spring biased movable bearing blocks and 101. Only a slight intermittent movement of the blocks takes place in normal operation which is insufficient to prevent satisfactory meshing of the gears 97 and 98.

The feed rolls are long enough so that two rovings can be fed side by side to the card 90. When the machine is to be used in this manner it is preferable to mount the shaft 96 in blocks 100 and 101 by means of ball bearings, which will permit one end of roll 93 to move away from roll 92 independent of the other end. Or plain bearing bushings can be used which are pivotally mounted in the blocks 100 and 101 so that each bearing can turn on a vertical axis.

The shaft is driven from shaft 73 by means of gears 75 and 112. The gear 111 on shaft 110 drives an a idler gear 113 which in turn drives the card shaft 91 by means of gear 92 and the feed roll shaft 94 by means of gear 99. The idler gear 113 is rotatably mounted on a stud 114 which is fixed in and projects from the side member 83 of the auxiliary frame.

The gears 75 and 112 are readily interchangeable for other gears in order to change the speed of the card 90 and the feed rolls relative to the speed of the main card 44. In order to reduce the speed of card 90 and the feed rolls, for example, the gear 75 is removed and replaced by a smaller gear, the gear 112 being also removed and replaced by a larger gear adapted to mesh with the gear which is substituted for gear 75.

The reference character 123 indicates a bracket which is mounted on the top of clamping block 86, Where it is secured in place by means of screws such as 88. The bracket extends over the top of the card 90 as shown in Fig. 1 and carries a freely rotatable corrugated presser roll 124. This presser roll bears on the fibrous material with which card 91) is filled when the machine is in operation.

The machine as described so far is adapted to handle a long fiber roving. The card 90 is interposed between the feed rolls and the main card in order to promote a uniform transfer of the material to the main card.

Card 90 rotates just fast enough to exert a very slight pull on the roving as it is delivered to the card bythe feed rolls, thus avoiding any tendency toweaken or break the roving at this point. The card 90 does have some carding action, however, and prepares the material so as to facilitate its uniform transfer to the'main card, but due to the length of the fiber, there is still some tendency for the material to be pulled off the card 90 unevenly. This tendency is counteracted by the presser roll 124 which tends to retain the material in the-teeth of card 3v 9%) so that it is withdrawn gradually and uniformly by the main card 44.

The drive for the needle cylinder of the knitting machine may now be described.

The reference character 37 indicates a bevel gear which is mounted on the shaft 29 within the housing 21. The gear 37 is in mesh with a bevel gear 126, Fig. 2, which is mounted on a short vertical shaft 125. This shaft is supported. by suitable hearings in the upper part of the main frame. The bearings are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, but for the sake of clarity have been omitted from other views. The shaft 125 is connected with the shaft 127 by means of a universal joint 138. This joint is indicated by a dotted rectangle, since it is similar to the universal joint 128, Fig. 3, by means of which the shaft 127 is connected to the shaft 129.

The latter shaft and the horizontal shaft 131 are mounted on a bracket 137 which is firmly attached to the underside of the bed plate 10 by means of screws 140, Fig. 2, and screws 139, Fig. 3. The bracket 137 has a and a cylindrical boss 135 containing bearings for shaft 131. A web 136 connects these bosses. The shaft 129 carries a bevel gear 130 which meshes with the bevel gear 141 on shaft 131. These gears are enclosed in a cover 133 which is attached to bracket 137 by mean of screws as shown.

On the end opposite'the gear 141 the shaft 131 carries the bevel gear 132 which is in mesh with the gear 12 of the knitting machine. Thus it will be seen that the shaft 29 of the carding head, which is driven by the individual motor 24, drives the needle cylinder 11 of the knitting machine by means of the gears 37 and 126, shafts 125, 127, and 129, gears 130 and 141, shaft 131, and gears 132 and 12.

The universal joints which connects shafts 125 and 129 with the intermediate shaft 127 are provided so that the carding head can be adjusted radially with respect to the knitting cylinder to insure that the needles will penetrate the proper depth into the fibrous material on the card 47 during the knitting operation. The teeth on cards such as 47 may vary in length slightly and the thickness of the layer of fibrous material on the card in use will vary somewhat with the rate of feed, and in consequence it is necessary to make the carding head adjustable to secure the correct penetration under these varying conditions. As can be seen from either side view Fig. 2 or Fig. 3, moving the carding head toward the cylinder will increase the depth to which the needles penetrate the layer of fibrous material on card 47 while moving the carding head outward from the cylinder will decrease it.

In order to provide for adjustment of the carding head as explained above, the holes in the base 17 and in the foot 18 of the main frame for the screws 19 and 20 are made in the form of elongated slots, as shown in Fig. 5. The opening 145 through which the shaft 127 passes is also made large enough to provide clearance for the shaft in different adjusted positions of the carding head. The bracket 137 is not disturbed when the carding head is ad.- justed and the misalignment of shafts 125 and 129 which may result is taken care of by the universal joints.

There are preferably a plurality of carding heads similar to the carding head described which are angularly spaced around the knitting machine, and the carding heads are all geared to the knitting cylinder in the manner described, so that each individual motor such as 24 takes its share of the load. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 6 which shows diagrammatically a top view of the knitting machine as driven from four card ing heads. The carding heads have been removed by a section which cuts the shafts such as 127 just above the brackets such as 137 in order to expose the paralle drives for the gear 12 and knitting cylinder 11.

The parallel drive from a plurality of individual carding head motors has a great advantage over the drive formerly used in which the cylinder gear was driven by a shaft and pinion rotated by some external power source and in turn drove the carding heads. In the old. system the driving pinion for the cylinder gear transmitted all the power, not only that required for driving the knit.- ting cylinder but also the power required for driving all the carding heads, and soon wore out. In the parallel drive as shown in the instant case, there are four pinions driving the cylinder gear and each pinion has only one-fourth of the load. This lead, moreover, is limited to the load imposed by the knitting cylinder, since the carding heads are driven directly by their individual motors.

It will be noted also that if one motor should fail, or be removed for repairs, the associated carding head will be driven from the cylinder gear and that there will still be three motors to share the load.

It is thought that the operation of the carding head shown and of the complete machine will be understood from the preceding description but a brief explanation may be useful nevertheless.

The motors such as 24 are preferably connected in parallel so as to be supplied with power through a single switch or other starting device. When the switch is closed, the motors start simultaneously and each motor drives its associated carding head and also helps to drive the knitting cylinder.

Considering the carding head shown, the motor 24 drives the shaft 29 by means of sprocket wheel 27, chain 28, and sprocket wheel 32. The shaft 29 drives the card 54 by means of sprocket wheel 36, chain 66, and sprocket Wheel 57. The chain 66 also drives shaft 63 by means of sprocket wheel 64 and shaft 65 drives the card 47 by means of gears 65 and 50.

The shaft 29 also drives shaft 38 and the main card 44 by means of gears and 41. Shaft 33 drives shaft 70 by means of gears and 71, shaft drives shaft 73 by means of gears 72 and 74, and shaft '73 drives shaft 110 by means of gears 75 and 112. The gears in 3 this train are speed reducing gears which drive shaft 110 at the proper speed and in the right direction for driving the feed rolls and card 90. v

The shaft 110 drives the shaft 94 and feed roll 92 by means of gear 111, idler gear 113 and gear 99, and drives the card by means of gear 111, idler gear 113, and gear 92. Shaft 94 drives shaft 96 and feed roll 93 by means of gears 97 and 98.

The cards 90, 44, 54, and 47 rotate in the directions which are shown by arrows on the respective cards in 47. It will be understood that the material accumulates on each card, completely filling the teeth thereof, and is taken off gradually by the succeeding card due to its higher peripheral speed. The feeding card 47 is thus maintained full of the fibrous material in the proper con dition to be taken off by the needles of the knitting machine. The operation of the knitting machine and the details of the formation of the pile fabric are known and need not be described.

It may, however, be mentioned that the proper formation of the pile is aided by the provision of a pipe and .1

nozzle 146, supported on the bracket 147, for delivering a stream of air to the needles after they pass the end of card 47 with the fibrous material which has been withdrawn therefrom. Knitting takes place about an inch beyond the card in the direction of knitting cylinder roa tation, or forward of the card as seen in Fig, 2, and between this point and the card the air blast brings together both sides of each bunch of fibers which has been seized by a needle, straightens the bunches out somewhat,

and causes the bunches to extend inward from the needles in a substantially horizontal plane, where they do not interfere with the knitting operation. I

The thickness or weight of the pile is regulated as desired by adjusting the speed of the feed rolls 92 and 93, which determines the rate of feed and the thickness of the layer of fibrous material which is accumulated on card 47. The speed of the feed rolls is adjusted by means of the speed changing gears 75 and 112 as already described.

When the machine is used to manufacture pile fabric with short fiber fibrous material the lickerin card 90 and the presser roll 124 are not required and the feed rolls may be arranged to deliver the material direct to the card 44. This modification will now be described briefly.

To change the machine for operation with short fiber, the bracket 123 and presser roll 124 are removed, after which the clamping block 86 is taken off. The assembly which includes the card 90, shaft 91, bearing sleeve 89 and gear 92 may then be removed intact. The idler gear 113 is then shifted from the stud 114 to the stud 115, where it meshes properly with the gears 111 and 99 as before. The screws 109 which clamp the auxiliary frame to the main frame may then be loosened, after which the auxiliary frame is rotated on the bar 107 as a pivot to bring the feed rolls 92 and 93 into operative relation to the card 44. The feed rolls having been properly adjusted to the card, the screws 109 are tightened up again, which completes the change.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the invention provides a pile fabric knitting machine and a carding head having a number of novel features which constitute a considerable advance in this field. While a specific form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. I do not, therefore, wish to be restricted to the precise form of the invention which is disclosed herein, but desire to include and have protected by Letters Patent all forms of the invention which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted in said frame, a plurality of serially related cards removably mounted on said shafts on one side of said frame for feeding fibrous material to said knitting machine, a motor mounted on said frame, and driving means connecting said motor with said shafts, said driving means including gears removably mounted on said shafts on the other side of said frame. I

2. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted in said frame, a plurality of serially related cards removably mounted on said shafts on one side of said frame for feeding fibrous material to said knitting machine, a motor mounted on said frame, driving means on the opposite side of said frame connecting said motor with said shafts for driving said cards at progressively increasing peripheral speeds, said driving means including two pairs of interchangeable gears for driving the first and last cards, respectively, at selected speeds, one gear on each pair being removably mounted on the card shaft driven thereby, and a chain and removable sprocket for driving an inter mediate card at a selected speed.

3. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a main card, a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine, an intermediate card, means for adjusting said intermediate card relative to said main card, and means for adjusting said intermediate card relative to said feeding card while maintaining its adjustment relative to said main card.

4. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, a main card, a feeding card for delivering fibrous material to the needles of said machine, means for rotatably mounting said cards on said frame, an intermediate card, a support on which said intermediate card is rotatably mounted, and means for mounting said support on said frame, the mounting means for said support including means for independently adjusting it in two directions along lines which are substantially tangent to the said main and feeding cards, respectively.

5. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, three serially related cards rotatably mounted on said frame, said cards comprising a main card, a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine, and an intermediate card, the mounting means for the intermediate card comprising a shaft, a bearing supporting said shaft, a bracket supporting said bearing on said frame, means for adjusting said bearing on said bracket,

skinned and means for adjusting said bracket on said frame, said cards being so disposed relative to each other and the directions in which the bearing and bracket are adjusted being so selected that one adjustment changes the distance between the intermediate card and the feeding card without substantially affecting the distance between the intermediate card and the main card, while the other adjustment changes the distance between the intermediate card and the main card without substantially changing the distance between the intermediate card and the feeding card.

6. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a main frame, a shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, a main card supported on said shaft, an auxiliary frame pivotally mounted on said main frame, a shaft rotatably mounted on said auxiliary frame, a lickerin card supported on said second shaft and adjustable relative tothe first mentioned card by adjusting said auxiliary frame on its pivot, means for securing said auxiliary frame in adjusted position, and a gear train for connecting said shafts, said train including a gear mounted for rotation on an axis which is the same as the axis on which the auxiliary frame is rotated when it is adjusted on its pivot.

7. In a carding head, a main frame, a main card rotatably mounted on said frame, a second frame, a lickerin card and a pair of feed rolls rotatably mounted on said second frame, a pivotal connection between said frames. providing an axis on which the second frame is rotatable to adjust the lickerin card relative to the. main card, means for driving the main card, and means including a gear mounted for rotation on said axis for driving the lickerin card and said feed rolls.

8. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a main frame, a main card rotatably mounted on said frame, an auxiliary frame, means for supporting said auxiliary frame on said main frame in either of two positions, feed rolls mounted on said auxiliary frame in operative relation to said main card when said auxiliary frame is in one of said positions, a lickerin card and means for interposing it between said feed rolls and said main card when said auxiliary frame is in the. other of said positions, means including a gear train for driving said feed rolls in both said positions, and means including a gear of said gear train for driving the lickerin card.

9. In a carding head as claimed in claim 8, a bearing assembly for the lickerin card comprising a shaft on which the card is mounted, a gear on said shaft, bearing means for rotatably supporting said shaft, and means for removably mounting said bearing means on the auxiliary frame. 7

10. In a carding head fora file fabric knitting machine, a frame, a pair of feed rolls, a lickerin card, shafts by means of which said rolls and card are mounted in said frame, a first gear on the lickerin card shaft, a second gear on one feed roll shaft, a driving shaft and gear mounted on said frame, an idler gear, and means for mounting said idler gear on said frame in either of two positions in one of which it connects the said driving gear with both the first and second gears and in the other of which it connects the driving gear with the second gear only.

11. In a carding head for a pile fabric-knitting machine, a pair of feed rolls, a lickerin card to which fibrous material is delivered by said feed rolls, a main card for taking said material olf said lickerin card, means for driving said feed rolls and said cards, and a freely rotatable presser roll bearing on the material on said lickerin card adjacent the point where the material is transferred to the second card.

12. In a pile fabric knitting machine, a circular knitting machine comprising an annular bed plate and a needle cylinder mounted for rotation therein, a plurality of carding heads each comprising a frame secured to said bed plate and a plurality of cards mounted on the frame for 10 feeding fibrous material to said needle cylinder, an individual motor for each carding head mounted on the frame thereof for driving the associated cards, and a driving connection between each motor and said needle cylinder.

13. A pile fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the driving connections include a relatively large gear op-eratively connected to the needle cylinder, smaller gears individual to the respective carding heads in mesh with said large gear, and means for driving the individual gear for each carding head from the individual motor for such carding head.

14. A pile fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein each carding head includes a shaft driven by its individual motor for driving the cards, and wherein the drivingconnections for the needle cylinder include said shafts, whereby ifany one motor is removed the carding head normally driven by such motor is driven by the remaining motors through the medium of said driving connections.

15. The combination, with a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder and a gear for driving the same,

of a carding head comprising a frame secured to said knitting machine, a plurality of serially related cards for feeding fibrous material to said cylinder, driving means for said cards, a motor mounted on said frame to supply power to said driving means, a sub-frame secured to said knitting machine and supporting a shafthaving a pinion in mesh with said gear, and a coupling device connecting said driving means with said shaft to enable said motor to supply power for driving said cylinder.

16. The combination, with a circular knitting machine having an annular bed plate and a needle cylinder mounted for rotation therein, of a carding head comprising a frame resting on said bed plate, a plurality of serially related cards rotatably mounted on said frame for feeding fibrous material to said cylinder, driving means for said cards, a motor mounted on said frame for supplying power to. said driving means, means for securing said frame to said bed plate in a plurality of radially spaced positions to adjust the last of said cards to said cylinder, mechanism for driving said cylinder, and means operative in any adjusted position of said frame for connecting said.

sides, a plurality of serially related cards removably mounted on said shafts, respectively, said cards comprising a main card, a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine and an intermediate card, first and second countershafts rotatably mounted in said frame, a motor mounted on said frame, means including a chain for driving said first countershaft from said motor, gears for driving the main card shaft from the first countershaft, means including a chain for driving the intermediate card shaft and the second countershaft from the first countershaft, and means comprising interchangeable gears on said feeding card shaft and second countershaft to drive the feeding card at different speeds, said gears being on the opposite side of said frame from said cards.

19. In a cardinghead for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame adapted for mounting on the bed plate of said machine, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted in said frame and projecting from both sides thereof, a plurality of serially related cards removably mounted on said shafts on one side of said frame, said cards comprising a main card, a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine, an intermediate card, and a lickerin card, a motor mounted on said frame, means including a chain for driving the main card shaft from said motor, means including said chain and a second chain for driving the intermediate card shaft from said motor, means including speed reducing gears and interchangeable speed changing gears for driving the lickerin card shaft from said main card shaft, and means including said chains and interchangeable speed changing gears for driving the feeding card shaft from said motor, said chains and gears being located on the opposite side of said frame from said cards.

20. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame and means for supporting it on the bed plate of said machine, a plurality of shafts extending horizontally through said frame and projecting therefrom on both sides, said shafts having hearings in said frame, a plurality of serially related cards removably mounted on said shafts, respectively, on one side of said frame, said cards including a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine and lickerin, main, and intermediate cards, operatively disposed ahead of said feeding card, a motor mounted on said frame, and means located on the opposite side of said frame from said cards connecting said motor to said shafts to drive said cards at progressively increasing peripheral speeds, including means for adjusting the speed of the feeding and lickering cards relative to the main card.

21. In a carding head for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame adapted for mounting on the bed plate of said machine, a plurality of serially related cards rotatably mounted on said frame for feeding fibrous material to the needles of said machine, said cards comprising in order a lickerin card, a main card, an intermediate card and a feeding card accessible to the needles of said machine, a motor mounted on said frame, driving means connecting said motor to said cards to rotate the same, and means included in said driving means for independently adjusting the speeds of said lickerin card, said intermediate card, and said feeding card relative to the speed of said main card.

22. in a fiber feeding mechanism for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, a shaft extending horizontally through said frame and projecting from both sides thereof, bearings for said shaft in said frame, a feeding card removably mounted on one end of said shaft, means for supporting said frame on said machine with said card operatively related to the needles of the machine, a motor mounted on said frame, a countershaft disposed parallel to said first shaft and rotatably mounted in said frame,

means including a chain and a sprocket on said countershaft for supplying power to the countershaft from said motor, and means connecting said first shaft with said countershaft comprising a gear on said first shaft on the opposite end thereof from said card and on intermeshing gear on said countershaft outside said sprocket, said gears being removable and exchangeable for other gears to change the speed of said card relative to said motor.

23. In a fiber feeding mechanism for a pile fabric knitting machine, a frame, a shaft extending horizontally through said frame and projecting from both sides thereof, bearings for said shaft in said frame, a feeding card removably mounted on one end of said shaft, means for supporting said frame on said machine with said card in feeding position relative to the needles of the machine. a motor mounted on said frame, means providing a driving connection from said motor to said shaft and including interchangeable speed changing gears one of which is removably mounted on the other end of said shaft and on the opposite side of said frame from said card.

24. In a pile fabric knitting machine having a circular knitting mechanism including a needle cylinder mounted for rotation in the machine with means for moving the needles in a knitting operation, a carding head mounted to the machine and including in said head at least one clothed carding roll positioned to present its clothing to the needles, and means for feeding fiber to said roll, said carding head being provided with a motor and motor drive connections between the motor and carding roll, the motor having power in excess of that required for operation of the carding head and being provided with drive connections to the cylinder for the drive thereof.

25. The knitting machine of claim 24 provided with a plurality of said carding heads each having an individual motor and each having a driving connection for its carding head and for power transmission to the cylinder.

26. The knitting machine of claim 25 wherein the driving connections include a relatively large gear operatively connected to the needle cylinder, smaller gears individual to the respective carding heads in mesh with said large gear, and means for driving the individual gear for each carding head from the individual motor for such carding head.

27. The machine of claim 25 wherein each carding head includes a shaft driven by its individual motor for P driving the card, and wherein the driving connections for the needle cylinder include said shafts, whereby if any one motor is not energized the carding head normally driven by such motor is connected to be driven by the remaining motors of other carding heads through the medium of said driving connections;

28. For use with a circular knitting machine having a needle equipped cylinder with associated knitting apparatus interconnected for cooperation in a knitting operation wherein needles of the needle cylinder move in the completion of knitted fabric, and power connections to the cylinder for driving the same, a carding head comprising a frame secured to said knitting machine with at least one carding roll positioned for feeding fibrous material to the needles of said cylinder, driving means for said roll including a motor mounted to said frame to supply power to said driving means, and a coupling device connecting said driving means with the power connections to enable said motor to supply power for driving said cylinder.

29. For use with a circular knitting machine having a needle equipped cylinder with associated knitting apparatus interconnected for cooperation in a knitting operation wherein needles in the needle cylinder move in the completion of knitted fabric, power connections to the cylinder for driving the same, a carding head comprising a frame secured to said knitting machine with at least one carding roll for feeding fibrous material to the needles of said cylinder, driving means for said roll including a motor mounted to said frame to supply power to said driving means, a subframe secured to said knitting machine and supporting a shaft having means for cooperative connection with said power connections, and a coupling device connecting said driving means with said shaft to enable said motor to supply power for driving said cylinder.

30. For use with an otherwise powerless circular knitting machine having an annular bed plate and a needle cylinder mounted for rotation therein, a carding head comprising a frame mounted to said bed plate, a plurality of serially related cards rotatably mounted on said frame for feeding fibrous material to said cylinder, driving means for said cards, a motor mounted to said frame for supplying power to said driving means, means for mounting said frame to said bed plate including means for adjustment of the frame in a plurality of radially spaced positions relative to the cylinder to permit of adjustment of the last of said cards respecting said cylinder, mechanism for driving said cylinder including connections between the motor and the cards and between the motor and the cylinder, and means operative References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Tauber Oct. 20, 1914 Green Mar. 7, 1922 14 Holden Dec. 28, 1926 Moore Mar. 8, 1932 Moore Mar. 15, 1932 Moore Jan. 17, 1933 Wuest Nov. 13, 1934 Moore Oct. 15, 1935 Hollerung Apr. 15, 1941 

